Shepherd&#39;s crook.



PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905.

J. B. TIMBBRLAKE. SHEPHERDS 0300K. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1901. RENEWED JAN. 23, 1905;

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No. 797,821 PATENTED AUG. 22, 1905. T. B. TIMBERLAKE.

SHEPHERDS GROOK.

APPLIGATION FILED mum, 1901. RENEWED JAN. 2a, 1905.

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JOHN B. TIMBERLAKE, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN.

SHEPHERDS CROOK- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug? 22, 1905.

Application filed March 12, 1901. Renewed January 28, 1905. Serial No. 242,384.

-which the following is a specification, refer- .ence being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to improvements in shepherds crooks, the implement used by sheep borders in catching and controlling sheep. I have had extensive experience with implements of this sort, having manufactured large numbers under and in accordance with the Patent No. 291,177 to S. D. Felt. These earlier crooks were each made of a single piece of steel bent into the form desired in order to insure sufiicient flexibility, and at the same time, in order to maintain suflicient strength, they had to be shaped in a peculiar way, requiring considerable skilled labor, and were quite expensive and even when carefully made were frequently less flexible than was desirable.

The object of the present invention is to provide a crook which can be rapidly and cheaply manufactured, which shall have greater strength than those heretofore in use, and which shall be, in proportion to its strength, more flexible, and these ends I attain by constructing them in the manner illustrated in the drawings and described below.

Figure 1 illustrates a wire or rod from which a crook of my improved form can be made. Fig. 2 illustrates the same after the first bending operation. Fig. 8 illustrates the blank after the strands have been joined together. Fig. 4. illustrates the article in side view after the wire or rod has been bent into the form of a crook. Fig. 5 is an edge View of the same. Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate modifications of the crook embodying my invention.

In the drawings, A indicates a wire or rod of relatively small diameter, which after being cut of suitable length is doubled or bent, as shown in Fig. 2, to provide two substantiallyparallel strands a a. The blank thus formed is then strengthened, preferably in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3that is to say, by having the two strands twisted together throughout longer or shorter sections, as shown at a a". As illustrated, these sections of the strands where they are mutually intertwisted are situated one near the heel or shank end of the crook and one near the outer or free end. the strands are turned back upon themselves and the shape is obtained which is illustrated in Fig. 4- that is to say, the bending and shaping is so eli'ected as to provide an entrance-way at B, a reduced throat at b, a legloop at I), a shank at 7), and a slight curve outward at b at the free end. At Z)" the two strands are allowed to be apart somewhat to provide a loop or eye. The shank part 72 is secured to a handle, preferably one of wood for the sake of lightness, to which it can be secured in the way illustrated in Fig. 4: by means of a ferrule.

The advantageous features incident to a shepherds crook of this improved sort will be at once apparent. The wire or small rod is possessed of great strength and at the same time is highly elastic and flexible, and the rounded edges are such that they can be used withoutdanger of any harm to the leg of the animal. I preferably arrange the strands a a so that they shall in the finished article lie side by side in planes parallel to the axis of the leg-loop, thus maintaining the full strength of the metal and at the same time insuring the utmost flexibility. In the earlier articles with which I am acquainted it has been necessary to impart to them a special and peculiar shape in cross-section, they being rounded on the interior surface to avoid injury to the animal and flattened on the exterior surface to permit flexibility, and the shaping of them in this way has been a matter of considerable expense. By intertwisting the strands, as at a a, I prevent them from being accidentally separated or spread apart and strengthen the implement, although I do not thereby seriously stiffen it or rob it of its flexibility.

Although I have above described quite fully the details of one form of crook embodying my improvements and one of the ways of making the same, I wish it distinctly noted that I do not limit myself thereto. Instead of the twisting of the wires together they can be otherwise held in place, as by soldering or welding or by separately -formed ferrules applied thereto, as shown at (I .l), and, in fact, in some cases it may be found that no such fastening of the strands is required, although I prefer to employ it. Again, while I have described and prefer to follow the above method of forming the crook by commencing with an initially long wire or rod and doubling it, it will be seen that substan- The blank is then bent so thattially the same ends can be attained by employing two or more separatewires or rods and suitably securing together their ends and shaping them in the way above set forth.

hat I claim is 1. A shepherds crook formed of two or more strands of elastic wire bent back upon themselves to provide an inward-flaring entrance, a leg-loop, and an elastic shank, said strands being secured together by mutuallyengaging coils formed therein and lying side by side in said entrance and loop portion.

2. A shepherds crook formed of a single wire bent to provide two substantially parallel strands, and said strands being bent back upon themselves and shaped to provide an inward-tapering entrance, a leg-loop of strands side by side and spaced apart, and a handleshank, substantially as set forth.

3. A shepherds crook formed of a single piece of wire bent to form two substantially parallel strands, said strands being bent backward upon themselves and shaped to provide an inward-tapering entrance, a leg-loop, and

a handle-shank, and being twisted together at points near the free extremity of the crook and at points near the handle, said strands being separate and side by side between said points where they are twisted together substantially as set forth.

4. A shepherds crook formed of two resilient strands arranged side by side at the leg-loop portion of the crook, said strands being secured together between the leg-loop and the handle and also at the free end or point of the crook.

5. A shepherds crook formed of two resilient strands arranged side by side and spaced apart at the leg-loop portion of the crook, said strands being secured together between the leg-loop and the handle and also at the free end or point of the crook.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN B. TIMBERLAKE.

Vitnesses:

CHAS. H. SMITH, CHAs. E. TOWNSEND. 

